The Charge

Herbert West has a very good head on his shoulders…and another one in a
dish on his desk.

Opening Statement

H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator has long been a cult favorite of many
horror fans. Now, it's been released by Elite Entertainment in a
"Millennium Edition" that treats us to a digitally revamped picture
and soundtrack, as well as six hours of bonus materials.

All hype or worth the investment?

Facts of the Case

Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs, The
Frighteners) is a talented, young and probably psychotic doctor, obsessed
with the idea of reanimating the dead. He invents a serum that does the trick.
His roommate, Daniel Cain (Bruce Abbot), is dating the medical school Dean's
daughter, Megan (Barbara Crampton), who is immediately suspicious of Herbert.
When Daniel finds him fooling around with their cat's body parts, well, things
get messy. Before he knows it, Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), a renowned brain
researcher, tries to get his hands on the stuff. Despite a minor glitch when
Herbert beheads him and toys with the remains, Dr. Hill revives the dead
(including the school's dean, played deftly by Robert Sampson) and orders them
around like slaves. Apparently, that's a side effect of the serum: Mind control.
An intestine attack, zombie killings, and decapitated doctors are just a few of
the many treats of this camp classic which spawned the sequel Bride Of Re-Animator and the upcoming
Beyond Re-Animator.

The Evidence

Re-Animator is still a fine, funny, and horrific film. Campy, yes, but
sincerely played by its actors. Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, with his
deliberately "just a little weird" delivery, is the delightful anchor
of this comic horror ship. Plus, a special "Acting in Dismemberment"
award should be given posthumously to the late David Gale. As Dr. Hill, he
spends a good portion of the time as a head sitting in a tray of blood, or being
held by the hands of his decapitated body. His face covered with blood and
entrails is a wonderful contrast to his deep, booming, entitled voice—all
this while sticking his head through a fiberglass torso. Talk about a hard day
at work—and a role of a lifetime, which made him a popular horror
actor.

The combo of gore, horror, and a bit of camp always makes for a good evening
of entertainment. The plot flows swiftly, it has a few curve balls along the way
to keep you guessing, and there are plenty out-of-left field surprises (deranged
Dean Halsey bursts through the door! Rufus the cat is found in the fridge!
Blood! Guts! Woo-hoo!) cued by composer Richard Band's above-average music. The
obsession with bringing the dead back to life is explored in a simple, gory
manner with nary a wasted moment—lean and mean. Most of all, the precisely
timed moments of comedy, thanks mostly to Gale and Combs, is what makes this
movie stand out from others in its genre. The horror is displayed with gusto,
the comedy unforced. This is a great movie for fans of the genre and cinema
buffs in general!

Most of you readers already know this one's a winner; so how about the disc
itself? Rather, discs—this puppy has two discs loaded with extras. The
film itself is presented in a newly transferred 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen
version. Fans will swoon over how good this film finally looks (the previous
release was decent, if sub-standard). While the biggest flaw in the transfer is
a bit of softness in the image, overall I thought this was a great looking
picture. With dark black levels, a solid amount of colors and some very even
flesh tones, this is the best Re-Animator has ever looked!

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, DTS 5.1 Surround,
and Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. Why anyone would ever want the 2.0 soundtrack is
beyond me, but it's there in case you need it. Both the DTS and Dolby 5.1
soundtracks work very well within the confines of the film. Each of these has
been remastered and remixed to give the viewer a better sense of being right
there alongside the bodies and the carnage. While the bulk of these two
soundtracks are mainly played in the front of the soundstage, there are a few
fun directional effects and background noises coming though the two back
speakers. The dialogue sometimes is a bit muddy (this is not surprising due to
the film's low budget nature), though overall this is the best
Re-Animator has sounded in years. Sadly, no captions or subtitles are
available on this disc.

Disc One features four sound options and a THX-approved digital transfer. It
has two commentary tracks brought from the original DVD release (see Judge
Naugle's review of Re-Animator for another opinion)—one with
director Stuart Gordon and another with producer Brian Yuzna and actors Combs,
Robert Sampson (Dean Halsey), Barbara Crampton (Megan Halsey), and Bruce Abbott
(Daniel Cain). Definitely stick with the Gordon commentary—though he
sounds like he's ready to take a nap, he's full of information, giving extensive
background to the movie. His original inspiration in Lovecraft's series of
stories, his research at morgues, how certain effects were achieved—lots
of juicy stuff, including the surprising fact that he has a weak stomach. Not
entertaining, per se, but fascinating nonetheless. The actors and Yuzna mostly
joke through theirs, without much detail ("We shot this late at night"
is a vague example of the rare bit of production tidbits) and making fun of the
movie. It's okay but it gets old, and doesn't reveal much detail about the
film.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. On Disc Two, you'll find interviews with
Gordon and Yuzna, writer Dennis Paoli, composer Band, and an interview with
Fangoria magazine editor Tony Timpone. The joint interview with Gordon and Yuzna
is a snore—informative but pretty boring. Paoli's fares better—this
guy doesn't seem like he'd be the writer of such a fun horror flick, with his
distinguished beard and academic background, but it's obvious he relished
writing the film. He is an enthused interviewee, telling us how he adapted
Lovecraft's literature ("and it IS literature," he assures us).

An interview with composer Richard Band gives the usual tidbits of
information. Band apparently wanted to make the score campy from the start
(though it's more inspired by Hitchcock's Psycho score). It doesn't
sound campy to me, but there you go. The interview with Fangoria editor Tony
Timpone isn't really necessary, revealing little else but his own opinions about
the film upon his first viewing, but might be fun viewing for diehard fans.

The extended scenes are a guide to good film editing—they offer a
glimpse into character motives, plot details, and other minute examples that
enhance the viewing of the main film, but you can understand why they were
sliced. Obviously, Gordon did not forsake brevity and impact for indulging the
script's interesting but disposable details.

Whew! I need to stop for some Gatorade. Okay, better.

On to more extras…also in Disc Two, we have a deleted scene, also
mentioned in Paoli's interview, of a dream that Daniel Cain has. I won't reveal
what it involves, but it complements the viewing of the final edit very
well.

Of course, we are given the original trailer, as well as five TV spots. The
trailer looks great, sounds even better—not only is it in 16x9 anamorphic,
the sound has obviously been remastered. This and the five TV spots included on
Disc Two exhibit the delicate blend of wit and horror that the movie so
successfully realized.

Music Discussion with Richard Band is a nice extra, as he explains why he
did certain things musically in particularly scenes and then showing said scenes
for analysis, the dialogue muted. A fun extra—not vital, but not seen very
often on discs and thus greatly appreciated. Four scenes are discussed.

Multi-angle storyboards allow you to see the scene in the movie, cut with
the corresponding storyboard. A nice interactive feature that helps this disc
stands apart from the rest.

ANNNNNDD finally (water! water!), cast and filmmaker bios and filmographies.
Extensive and set against nice design—cool visuals of horrific scenes in
the film in shadowy colors and against a nice layout—these are the final
touches on Disc Two.

All of this is wrapped up in a neon green case with raised details and a
note from producer Yuzna on the back.

Closing Statement

Sometimes, a lot of extras in a DVD set can simply mean "waste of
time." Interviews with filmmakers are best kept to a time minimum, as they
tend to go on and on and…not really make them worth your while. Aside from
these extras on the Re-Animator: Millennium Edition, the deleted scenes,
interactive storyboard featurette, anamorphic trailer, and numerous other extras
make this a definite keeper for any fan, of horror or movies in general.

Plus, you got a great movie with a great transfer on disc one—a horror
classic. When you have extras that add a fascinating insight into the final
project—such as deleted and extended scenes—you have a complete
package that is a must-have for any collector, whether he or she is a horror
buff or not.

The Verdict

Free to go—these guys must have worked in the ditches for months to put
this double disc together. Go home and get some rest!